WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 201 



county, and on the south by Grant county. Its area is 332 

 square miles or 212,480 acres. 



Topography. 



The surface of Mineral is somewhat similar to that of Grant 

 county, just south of it. In the west the main ridge of 

 the Alleghanies traverses the county from northeast to south- 

 west, with New Creek and Knobly mountains running parallel 

 a few miles farther east. West of the crest of the Alleghanies 

 is the plateau region, from 5 to 7 miles wide in the south and 

 narrowing to a point farther north. The eastern half of the 

 county is occupied by the low, rounded foothills of the Alle- 

 ghanies and by the bottom lands lying within the drainage 

 basin of Patterson creek. East of this the surface rises to the 

 dividing ridge between Patterson creek and the South Branch 

 which is followed by the Mineral-Hampshire boundary line. 

 The range of elevation in the county is from 550 feet along the 

 North Branch, from the mouth of Patterson creek to the Hamp- 

 shire line, up to 3,327 feet at the summit of Pinnacle knob in 

 the Alleghanies. 



All the drainage is to the North Branch of the Potomac, 

 which forms a very irregular line separating the county from 

 Maryland on the northwest. The two important tributaries of 

 this river in Mineral are Patterson creek, flowing through the 

 eastern part, and New creek flowing between the Alleghany 

 and New creek mountains and emptying at Keyser. 



Original Forest Conditions. 



The timber in this county did not differ materially from 

 that of Grant and other adjacent counties. Hardwoods grew 

 abundantly in the rich valley and cove lands and a mixed 

 growth of hardwoods and softwoods could be found on the hills 

 and mountains. Chestnut oak was very plentiful on low ridges, 

 especially on Elnobly mountains, growing in some places in al- 

 most pure stands or mixed with other hardwoods or with pitch, 

 yellow and scrub pines. 



